26. Marc Katz

Custom Ink

2020 Rank: N/A

Title: Chairman and CEO

Industry Experience: 21 years

The kingpin of custom tees is back on the Power 50 after a four-year hiatus, thanks to deft pivoting throughout the pandemic and decades honing the art of e-commerce, leaving the bulk of the decorated-apparel industry to play catch up.

“Custom printing is a very easy business to get into, but it’s a hard business to do well, and it’s a very hard busines to do well at scale,” Katz says. “Custom Ink does this business really well at scale because we’ve spent 20 years figuring out how to do it right. We’ve built the processes, technology and operations to do very well at scale, and we think that’s why so many leading companies and organizations want to partner and work with us.”

Custom Ink launched in March 2000, after Katz had left a Wall Street job to join two former college classmates on the venture. It’s since shipped out millions of T-shirts and grown into a $500 million company.

In March 2020, that forward momentum slammed to a halt, with sales dropping 80% in mere days, according to the Washington Post. “It’s been a rollercoaster – from plummeting sales and temporary furloughs to new business ideas that helped bridge the gap and then an intense push to meet the demand as business has come back,” Katz says of the last 19 months. He adds that it’s been incredible to see how employees have shown up for each other and customers.

Besides being an early adopter of cloth masks last year, Custom Ink tried out a slew of new pandemic-era product ideas, from work-from-home kitting to drive-by graduation gear for schools. This year, with demand for typical products returning, Katz says sales have been strong, though supply chain disruption and volatility have posed challenges. “We’ve seen 2021 as an opportunity to add even more value to customers as they look for ways to maintain a sense of connection and community without gathering in person,” he adds.

Katz, who describes his leadership style as “caring and collaborative, yet relentless,” is enthusiastic about what 2022 will bring, in terms of company expansion and improvements. “We’re looking for opportunities to expand our business organically,” Katz says, “as well as through strategic partnerships and select acquisitions.”